Andaman & Nicobar Islands Geography, Languages, Flora & Fauna

Andaman and Nicobar islands, the pristine natural beauty is a cluster of 394 islands spreads across an area of 8249 square kilometer. Among this Andaman group has 325 islands which constitute an area of 6498 square kilometers and Nicobar with 24 islands covering 1841 square kilometers. Among the 394 islands only 38 are permanently inhabited. The islands extends from 6° to 8° North latitudes and from 92° to 94° East longitudes.

The Andaman islands are separated from the Nicobar group by a channel that is the ten degree channel of some 150 km wide. Height of islands is 732 meters from sea level. Highest points are Saddle Peak(732 meters) and Mount Thullier (642 meters). The capital of the Island is Port Blair. Port Blair is located 1,255 km from Kolkotta, 1,200 km from Vishakapattanam and 1190 km from Chennai.

The island has a mixed flora comprising of elements from Indian, Myanmarese, Malaysian and endemic floral strains. About 2,200 varieties of plants have been recorded till now. Out of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India. There is an abundant growth of epiphytic vegetation in South Andaman forests while North Andaman is well known for the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers. North Nicobar Islands are marked by the complete absence of evergreen forests, but in Central and southern islands of the Nicobar group evergreen forests are dominant.

Languages spoken are Nicobarese, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, etc. The island have a tropical climate. Nearly 86% of the island is forest.